


Breath on a Mirror

by PonderingTheUniverse17



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, F/M, Series 9, Whouffaldi Week 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-29 01:16:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6353098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PonderingTheUniverse17/pseuds/PonderingTheUniverse17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor brings Clara back to a familiar town to make amends for a certain Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breath on a Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> For Whouffaldi Appreciation Week 2016. Prompt: ‘make a wish’, winter, fairy lights.

Her knees sunk into the cold, crisp snow. She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it. They were back.

_The town is Christmas. That’s what it’s called._

He had tried to catch her but it was too late. He was in the snow too, cradling her face in his hands in hopes of bringing her back to the present. Her eyes were closed, unable to stop the images that flashed inside her head.

_You didn’t even say goodbye!_

“Talk to me, Clara,” he pleaded. “Please.”

Her eyes snapped back open, causing a single tear to fall down her cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb as a sigh of relief escaped him. His lips pressed against her forehead, letting them linger. She looked off into the distance, noticing the fairy lights that filled the little square. It was as if nothing had changed in the town since they left.

“Why?” she whispered. He pulled away from her but didn’t let go.

“Why what?” he asked.

“Why did you bring us back here?” she continued.

“To apologize for what I did to you,” he answered. She finally let her eyes meet his. It had been so long ago when he had sent her away. He had never once asked for forgiveness since the regeneration. She couldn’t blame him after what he had been through. His eyes said differently, that he deserved all of the blame.

“You were just keeping me safe,” she said. “Remember?”

“How could I forget?” he replied. “You were my one last victory, Clara.”

The cold air around them found its way to her skin, causing her to shiver.

“C’mon,” he said, standing up and taking her hand. “I know somewhere warm for us to go.” He wrapped his arms around her as they walked towards Christmas. She breathed in the scent of his hoodie. It smelled like gingerbread and lemon, both of which seemed to have a calming effect on her body.

She wasn’t paying attention to anything but the snow below them until they came to a stop. She looked up at the ground to see that they were standing in front of a plaque. It read:

_Dedicated to the Doctor._

All it took was one look for her to realize which building they were at. It looked exactly as they had left it, just like the rest of the town. She tightened her grip on his arm as they stepped through the door.

The drawings were untouched, the wooden horse still on the floor from when he had dropped it. She let go of his arm and walked towards the wall where the crack had been. She stopped and traced her finger where it last was. The rocking chair behind her creaked, the Doctor’s hand once again finding her’s. As she turned around, she expected to see his former self. She was happier to see the man right in front of her than the man with the bowtie. He brought her hand to his lips just as he’d done before.

“You saved so many lives staying here,” she said.

“I lost just as many as I saved,” he said. “I was afraid that I was going to lose you too.”

“I know.”

She’d always known that he had lived in loneliness to spare her. To do more than just spare her. To let her live.

“The sun is about to come up,” he said. “Do you want to see?” She nodded. He stood up from the chair, their hands never letting go as they ascended up the stairs.

She rested her head on his arm as they waited.

“Barnabas once told me that wishing when the sun was coming up was just as good as wishing on a star shooting across the sky.”

“Oh?”

“Do you know what I wished for every chance I got?”

“Tell me.”

“You.”  

The sun began to come up, its golden glow warming up her skin. She couldn’t stop herself as she got on her tiptoes to bring her lips to his. Joy radiated off of the both of them when she pulled away. The sun would rise and fall, like breath on a mirror.

“Make a wish, Clara.”

Little did he know that she didn’t need to. Little did he know that he was always forgiven. And little did he know that not just one crack had been healed, but two.

 


End file.
